This interest rate differential vis-à-vis any benchmark country—be it Germany or Montenegro—reflects the additional “risk premium” that banks perceive and charge on loans. It comprises essentially three... Show More + types of perceived extra risk, viz., (i) the business climate (collaterals, contract enforcement, or property rights); (ii) business conduct (high degree of informality, lack of financial transparency, or the lack of viable business plans); and (iii) the Damocles’ sword faced by foreign-owned banks in Kosovo of being merged by their respective headquarters into the group of troubled banks elsewhere in Eastern Europe and confronted with corporate strategies to deleverage out of (perceived) high-risk markets. Faced with this particular set of constraints, the banking sector in Kosovo has, in fact, adapted well to the existent environment, focusing its activities on remaining healthy, liquid, profitable, deposit-based, and with portfolios that contain but manageable risks.It is apparent wh Show Less -

"Are we treating the symptoms or curing the disease?"Thank you very much. It’s a great pleasure to be with you here today.I’d like to thank the IMF, the US Federal Reserve, and my colleagues... Show More + at the World Bank for organizing this important event.This conference is debating issues that remain vital, seven years after we suffered the first impact of the global financial crisis and five years after we slowly started to emerge from it.As you all well know, the G-20 responded to the financial crisis with a broad set of reform proposals. These include measures to strengthen capital and liquidity; policies to deal with the “Too-Big-To-Fail” problem; reforms for Over-the-Counter derivatives; and the expansion and redefinition of the regulatory perimeter.But the lingering question is: Is the drive for global financial reform addressing the disease? Or have we been dealing merely with the symptoms of systemic financial weakness?We must ask these questions while we shape the reform agend Show Less -

Honorable Prime Minister,Honorable Ministers,Ladies and Gentlemen:Before the global financial crisis of 2008, Albania was among the fastest growing countries in Europe. The crisis has dramatically... Show More + slowed growth in Albania. Immediate policy response to the global crisis was weak, prolonging a period of low investment and growth, reversing progress in poverty reduction and exacerbating macroeconomic and fiscal imbalances that have left public debt at crippling levels. These macroeconomic and fiscal imbalances are a roadblock to growth and jobs. The country has a large unfinished reform agenda. So it is important to have a clear vision and a sequence for correcting these imbalances and pursuing structural reform. I am delighted to be here today to acknowledge the seriousness with which you and your team, Honorable Prime Minister, are pursuing this medium-term path to growth and jobs, and tackling some difficult reform areas. Our signing ceremony today--for two budge Show Less -

Ilirjan Agolli, VoA: Which is the headline, the conclusion of this report for Albania and what can countries in the region learn from each other?Erjon Luci: The headline of this report, as mentioned earlier... Show More + from the author of the report is that the crisis that unfortunately the region is feeling is longer that what was initially thought. The double dip recession was considered initially impossible, but now the region is under double dip recession. What is important at this second stage of the crisis is not to create other obstacles, adding to those that have been created by the crisis. While the policy of fiscal consolidation maybe difficult, it is important, as we have said in previous statements, for long term trends, beyond the short term. Unfortunately, the crisis was not able to be mitigated linearly as was expected. We go back to what we have said repeatedly on long term reforms such as doing business. Macedonia might be a good example of focusing on the l Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Well, thank you very much for joining us for this closing press conference. Our participants will each make an opening statement and then we'll take... Show More + your questions. If I can ask everyone to please turn off your mobile devices or put them to vibrate, we would appreciate it. Chairman Belka. MR. BELKA: Thank you. As we are late, I am not going to be very descriptive about the meeting of the Development Committee. You know the agenda. The discussion was very rich, centering around the social safety nets, the private sector involvement in growth initiatives, as well we discussed modernization of the World Bank. However, one thing that is obvious, it took so long because all the delegates took the opportunity of this Development Committee meeting to express gratitude and adm Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our World Bank Group press conference for the 2012 Spring Meetings. Joining me this morning is the President of the World Bank... Show More + Group, Robert Zoellick, who will have an opening statement and then take some of your questions. If I could please ask everyone when they ask a question to identify themselves and your organization; and once again, I am sure you have been asked, but if we could have our mobile devices switched off or to "vibrate." So, President Zoellick. MR. ZOELLICK: Thank you, Rich. Welcome, and thanks to all of you for coming. This marks my last Spring Meetings as the President of the World Bank Group, so I would like to begin with a few words of thanks to the Ministers who have supported us and worked with us; to our Executive Board, who have labored hard to help our Management team to modernize the important multilateral institution; to the excellent Senior Manageme Show Less -

Excellencies,Distinguished Guests, Ladies and GentlemenSabah el-Kheir, Ahlan wa SahlanLet me start by thanking you all for accepting our invitation to this workshop. Your presence here exposes our deep... Show More + collective commitment to support Lebanon in achieving the full sustainable economic growth that it so deserves.Our deliberations today focus on the collaborative effort undertaken by the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Lebanon and the World Bank study on the use of Lebanon’s large capital inflows to foster sustainable economic growth. I am usually averse to blowing the trumpet of our own accomplishments. But in this case, I cannot but commend the team for this momentous work that produced a detailed three-in-one package of economic findings: (i) An assessment of present-day conditions and existing resources; (ii) evidence-based vision of where Lebanon would be 15-20 years from now if reforms are implemented (and where it would be if partial reforms or no reforms are introduced); Show Less -

ProtocolMr. Van Trong Ly, Co Chair and Vice Chairman, Office of GovernmentMr. Vu Khoan, former Deputy Prime MinisterMr. Nguyen Van Binh, Deputy Governor, State Bank of VietnamLadies and GentlemenA very... Show More + good morning to you all.I join Vice Chairman Van Trong Ly in welcoming all of you to the workshop.Mr Ly, I want to thank you and the OOG for organizing this important workshop jointly with us. We are delighted to have you with us for this morning given your heavy schedule. We hope that you find your interaction with us during this workshop beneficial.RemarksLet me begin by discussing the genesis of this workshop. Recently, the OOG and the World Bank have worked together on how the two institutions can cooperate in order to enhance knowledge exchange between Vietnam and rest of the world. As part of this process, it has been proposed that we will be producing a number of policy notes for the new administration. This workshop is an input to that process – we have invited colleagues from HQ Show Less -

Dear colleagues,This event is a tribute to the dedication and leadership of Dr. Jihad Al Wazir and his team at the Palestinian Monetary Authority as well as the Palestinian private sector bankers. ... Show More + Through his vision and determination, Dr. Al Wazir has managed to overcome enormous challenges to build a core financial system to serve the Palestinian people and a future state.The viability of any state and its financial system rests on having a robust private sector led economy that can provide the jobs required by a growing workforce and the resources needed by the government to provide essential services. Recent trends in WBG are comforting, as growth, besides being driven by aid inflows, is being supported by the resurgence of economic activity. The PMA and the World Bank have a strong partnership that aims to nurture private sector and evolve a strong central bank and install a best practice financial regulatory and supervisory system to help strengthen banks i Show Less -

Thank you for your kind invitation – it is a great pleasure to be here. When we think about the global economy, I imagine many of us feel the trepidation of the little black cat that Victor Hugo described... Show More + in Les Miserables: "We all know the habit of cats of hesitating in an open doorway - hovering uncertainly at the risk of being crushed by the closing of the door." It is a time when economists tend to equivocate more than ever – so I’ll try and be clear in offering thoughts on: - the financial crisis; - the state of macroeconomic policy; - the dialogue taking place in the G20; and - the future of the financial services industry. The Financial Crisis Organizations often fail because - they become ideas-constrained; or - they fail to manage tail risk, or very low probability events with major impact. Lehman, Merrill, and part of AIG disappeared from the corporate landscape bec Show Less -

Korea: From Poor to ProsperousGood morning, and welcome to this High-Level conference on Post-Crisis Growth and Development organized jointly by the Government of Korea and the World Bank. ... Show More + I would like to pay tribute to our host country and to thank Doctor Il Sakong and all those who have worked hard to make this happen. This conference is timely. Tomorrow, Finance Ministers from the G20 group of nations will meet here in Busan and in November, Korea will become the first non-G7 country to host the G20 leaders’ summit.I want to commend President Lee Myung-Bak for his leadership in the G20 process and his foresight in helping ensure development issues are on the G20 agenda even as the whole world remains preoccupied with a smooth exit from the most serious economic and financial crisis since the Great Depression.In the space of less than half a century, Korea transformed itself from a poor nation into an industrialized country by building on its comparative advan Show Less -

Honorable Energy Advisor, Secretary Power Division, Ladies and Gentlemen; I am deeply honored to address this ICC sponsored Conference on Energy and Growth. This topic could not be more timely, and... Show More + at the very outset I would like to confirm that the World Bank remains a committed partner in Government’s energy sector development. Over the years, the Bank has supported numerous investments in the sector, and we plan to continue that support for the foreseeable future.Bangladesh is in the grips of a serious energy crisis with multiple dimensions:From the customer’s perspective• Electricity supply meets less than 75% of peak demand• Gas supplies meet less than 85% of daily demand• Only about 47% of households have access to electricity.• Industry reports that power shortages severely affect profitabilityFrom the supply perspective• The power sector bears the brunt of gas curtailments (85% of plants being gas fired), exacerbating peak power shortages• Neither gas nor power tariffs cov Show Less -

We are meeting at an extraordinary time. Three years ago, the developing world wasexperiencing its most rapid economic growth in four decades. We talked of the globaltransfer of skill-enhancing technologies,... Show More + the powerful catalysts of trade, investment, andcapital flows, and whether the developing economies were decoupling from thedeveloped economies.Three crises later, things are dramatically different. 60 million people remain trapped inextreme poverty (measured as living on under US$1.25 a day ppp adjusted), as a result ofthe food and fuel crisis, and the effects of the global slowdown from the financial crisisare only just beginning to be felt in low income countries.Every 1% decline in the average GDP gross rate for the developing world thrusts anadditional 20 million people into extreme poverty. For regions like Sub-Saharan Africa,with 54% of its population aged below 20, the impact can be devastating.Poverty numbers mask the true nature of poverty. Extreme poverty has the face of Show Less -

Opening Remarks by Victoria KwakwaWorld Bank Country Director, VietnamAt the Meeting of Consultative Group of Donors for VietnamJune 9-10, 2009Kien GiangThank you very much Minister Vo Hong Phuc Excellency... Show More + Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DungMinister Vo Hong PhucMr. Bui Ngoc Suong, Chairman of Kien Giang People’s CommitteeAmbassadorsColleagues, heads of development agenciesLadies and GentlemenA very good morning to you all.I join Minister Phuc in welcoming all of you to the 2010 MYCG in Rach Gia city, Kien Giang Province.Excellency Prime Minister, I want to especially welcome you to this midyear CG in your native province of Kien Giang. 17 years ago, you were a Chairman of the People’s Committee of the province and that you have made a contribution to the progress of the province.We are honoured to have you with us for this morning given the heavy schedule you have in Kien Giang. The fact that you have chosen to spend time with us reflects the strong partnership between V Show Less -